|
|
||
|
|
|
 Telling Your Organization's Story Problem: One of the most serious problems I've found in my consulting work is that organizations have no real sense of the past - or the future, for that matter. They don't know how to answer some fundamental questions, such as "Who are we?", "Where did we come from?" and "Where are we going?" They don't know what makes their company great or how it differs from similar organizations. The outcome is that they don't experience feelings of pride and belonging that come from being part of something that has a real history and a compelling purpose. Now organizations often try to address these issues by creating vision and mission statements. But while these are essential, they are often made up of abstract goals and values that are not grounded in the real world. They sound good, yet they lack substance. Solution: I've found that a practical solution to this problem is to collect stories about an organization's past, its turning points and the unique personalities that have helped define its original purpose. What I'm talking about are stories like Apple Computer's humble beginnings in a garage or Coca Cola's handling of the New Coke/Classic Coke issue. These stories are concrete examples of what matters in the organization and how it has managed to cope during difficult times. Basically there are three different types of stories. They are: 1. Creation Stories - this kind of story tells who started the company, the original purpose or vision and how he or she overcame the initial difficulties (e.g., funding, hiring, creating brand recognition, etc.) These stories demonstrate that the organization was begun in order to offer a new solution to a specific problem and how that actually happened. For this story, you would interview the founder, his or her family, any original backers or investors and any original employees. By talking to them about that period in the company's history, you will be getting the story straight from the people who were there. 2. Turning Point Stories - These are stories that demonstrate how the organization successfully overcame a crisis or made a radical change in its purpose. A classic story here is the way that Intel reinvented itself in response to the public outcry over a 1994 glitch in one of its chips. Here you would interview the people who made the critical decisions. You might also talk with those people who were affected by the change (e.g., employees, customers and suppliers.) The lesson here is that difficult times come in cycles and that the organization has managed to survive (and even thrive) during its earlier challenges. This is always important to remember during uncertain times. 3. Inspirational Stories - These are stories about people in the organization who have done something remarkable to help a customer or to save the company money. The obvious examples here are all the legendary stories about Nordstrom's extraordinary customer service, their refunding someone's money for a set of tires when they don't even sell tires. These stories acknowledge the greatness in your people, impart core values and create tangible role models for others to emulate. You can put out a request for stories to everyone in your organization. Doing so will give you a variety of stories to choose from. You will have to decide what format you want the stories to be in: audio, video, print or perhaps a book. To collect the stories, you can sit down either with people one-on-one or in a small group. Ask open-ended questions that begin with "how" or "why." You can always edit it all. Once you've gotten the stories, you can use them in training, Founder's Day celebrations and new employee orientations. Put them in your newsletter and share them in speeches. Make them a real part of your organization's culture. Example: I was hired to do a customer service training for a local high-tech firm. They had been having a lot of customer service problems with one of their vendors. I interviewed the semi-retired founder about how he had originally handled that vendor. His vivid stories were funny and inspiring. Results: The employees put into practice the principles behind his stories. The outcome was that their relationship with the vendor got much better and the phone time they spent with the vendor getting things right was cut in half. Summary: Stories make your company's history - and it's future - come alive. They inspire and acknowledge people and create a strong sense of identity. They are a very practical way of teaching your people what really matters. |
|
. |
||
|
|
Home
|
Services
|
Training
|
Coaching
|
Clients
|
Results |
|
. |
|